The Monster Within (24 page)

I gave Nora an apologetic look before returning to my other tables. Beth yammered on for an hour while Nora drank her coffee. I was so wrapped up in the two of them sitting there together looking like the odd couple that I forgot Ethan had said he wanted to meet Nora.

“Nora.” I walked up to the end of the counter so Nora could turn to face me with her back to Beth. It wasn’t exactly privacy, but it was the best I could hope for right now. “Ethan said he wanted to meet you. I’m going to get him from the kitchen, okay?”

A strange look flitted across her face so quickly I couldn’t figure out what it was. Most likely she’d had enough meeting people for one night after having to listen to Beth for the past hour.

I reached for her arm, touching it briefly. “Sorry, I know it’s getting late, and you probably have to get going. This will only take a second, though. I promise. And you’ll love Ethan.”

“I’m going to run to the bathroom really quick while you get him,” she said.

“Okay.” I headed to the kitchen and found Jackson at the grill alone. “Where’s Ethan? There’s someone I want him to meet.” I motioned to the dining room.

“He’s in the walk-in, looking for more frozen patties.”

“Oh, well, can you ask him to come out when he’s done?”

Jackson nodded. “Sure thing, sweetheart.”

I went back to the counter and refilled Nora’s coffee. I debated asking Beth if she wanted another ginger ale. I was kind of hoping she’d ask for the check.

“Ethan’s never met Nora? That’s strange.”

“Not really. He doesn’t come into the dining room much since he switched from busboy to assistant chef.”

“He used to bus tables?”

“Yeah, when we first got hired, but Jackson said he could use an extra hand in the kitchen.”

“Huh, seems like he would’ve known that when he was hiring.”

“Maybe he did. The sign in the window just said ‘Help Wanted.’ It didn’t list positions, and Ethan never mentioned any cooking skills. He helped Jackson out one night in a jam. We were packed. He’s been there since.”

Nora came back from the bathroom. “Sam, I really need to get going. I have to check on something.” I knew she was talking about the witch she had lined up for me.

“Oh, okay. I guess Ethan is still looking for those patties in the walk-in. Sorry you didn’t get to meet him tonight. Maybe tomorrow.”

“Yeah. Call me.” She left off the “if you need me,” but I understood.

“Bye.” I watched her go, wishing it was Beth walking out of the diner instead.

“She’s interesting,” Beth said.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean she’s not exactly normal.”

Who was she to judge? “I like her.” I took Nora’s coffee cup and dumped it into a bin of dirty dishes.

“Well, yeah she seems to like you, too, but she’s a witch. Like a real live witch.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

H
OW
could she possibly know that? I was starting to wonder if Beth was a witch herself. It was uncanny how she seemed to know everything about everyone.

“Why do you think she’s a witch?” I tried to play it cool, to not give away that Beth was right.

“I followed her when she went to the bathroom.” She played with her empty glass and avoided my eyes.

I flung the dishcloth down on the counter. “Why would you do that?” At first I’d thought Beth was really intuitive, but she wasn’t. She knew everything because she spied on everyone. Stuck her nose in everyone’s business. She wasn’t a witch or clairvoyant. She was nosy.

She shrugged. “I got a weird vibe from her. But anyway, she was mumbling something in the bathroom. Some sort of prayer to some god or maybe even Satan. Who knows?”

“The only god Nora prays to is the coffee god.” I laughed, trying to shrug off Beth’s accusation. “And how do you know she was praying? Maybe she was singing. Sometimes Jackson plays music in the kitchen.”

“You were just in there. You don’t remember if he had music on?” She looked at me now, trying to read my expression.

“I wasn’t really paying attention.” I picked up the dishcloth again and wiped the counter. “I’m kind of busy working, if you hadn’t noticed.”

“Right.” She sat back on her stool. “What do I owe you?”

Finally. I took her bill from the pad in my back pocket and tossed it on the counter in front of her. Okay, so I wasn’t exactly being nice, but Beth was getting into things she didn’t have a right to.

“See you in school tomorrow.” She placed a five-dollar bill on the counter.

“Yeah,” I mumbled, baffled why she’d leave me a tip that was bigger than the actual check. Especially since I’d forgotten to buy her dessert.

Whatever. I was glad to be rid of her, and since Nora had managed to skip out on her bill again, I used Beth’s tip to cover it. As the night grew on, I started to feel weird. My energy level hit a low, and even though I wasn’t gasping for air, I felt like breathing was getting harder and harder. As soon as the last customer left, I texted Nora.

Something weird is happening to me. Might be time
.

Gloria took the cash drawer and headed to the office. “Yell goodnight before you leave,” she said.

“Sure.” My cell vibrated in my hand.

On my way
.

Great. Now I had to let Ethan know I wasn’t going home with him.

I walked into the kitchen. Ethan was washing dishes, which made me nearly fall over. “Whoa! Jackson, how did you pull this off? I didn’t think Ethan even knew what a sponge was for.”

“Ha ha,” Ethan said. “Cleanup is part of cooking. Or so Jackson tells me. Although I haven’t seen him do any dishes yet.”

“Why would I? That’s what I have my junior chef for.” He smiled and waggled his eyebrows at me. I assumed Jackson wasn’t even going to attempt hiring a new dishwasher since Gloria had fired the last two.

I walked over to Ethan and placed my hand on his back, but then I remembered I was feeling funny lately. I didn’t want to accidentally drain any more life from Ethan. I wasn’t sure how much time he really had left. I lowered my hand. “You going to be much longer?”

“Um…” He looked around at the stack of dishes. “Looks like a least half an hour. I still have a few other things to do after I finish with these.”

“Okay. Then do you mind if I go to Nora’s for a little while?”

He nearly dropped the dish he was washing. “You guys are hanging out?”

I shrugged. “What’s the big deal?”

“I’m just surprised. I know you said you worked things out, but I didn’t realize you were that close already.”

“She’s nice.”

“Was she here tonight?”

“Yeah. I tried to introduce you, but Jackson said you were in the walk-in refrigerator looking for something. Nora had to be somewhere so she couldn’t stick around and wait.”

“How are you two hanging out if she already has plans?” He looked at me skeptically.

“I guess it wasn’t anything big or time-consuming. So are you cool with it?”

“Yeah. Call me when you need a ride home.”

“I’m pretty sure she’ll drive me home, but I’ll call if I need you.” I kissed his cheek, just a light peck because my throat was starting to close up. “Bye.”

I practically ran out of there, yelling goodnight to Gloria. Nora was already waiting for me in the parking lot.

She gave me the once-over. “You don’t look anything like you did last time.”

“It feels different, but I can tell it’s happening. The air is almost too heavy to breathe.”

She backed out of her parking spot and turned onto the main road. After about ten minutes, we turned onto a dirt road.

“Where are we going?” I held onto the door for support as the car bounced on the uneven road.

“My house.”

“You brought the witch to your house?”

“I had a visitor earlier. This guy I know broke in and tried to use black magic on me. Luckily, I was too quick for him. I bound him in his own magic. He’s waiting for you.”

Waiting for me. That’s not really how I would’ve described it. “Does he know? About me?”

“Yes. Dylan must have told him.”

I felt queasy, and I wasn’t sure if I’d make it much farther.

“Don’t get all weak on me,” Nora said. “We both agreed this was the best option for now. The spell I need to put on a new necklace for you takes time. I can’t rush it or it won’t work right.”

“I know.” I gripped the seat as the tightness in my chest increased. I would’ve given just about anything for a little of that witch magic right about now.

“We’re here.” Nora pulled up to a house that was almost as broken-down as the cottage had been when we’d moved in. “As you can see, the witch you’re about to meet did a number on this place.”

“I’m sorry.” I wanted to say more, but I was too weak. I hated that Nora was put in the middle of all this. She was nice enough to try to help me, and all it had done was get her house pummeled by an evil witch.

She came around to my side of the car and took me by the arm. “Hands where I can see them.” She knew her touch was helping me, but if I got too close, got into position, I would kill her to save myself. I couldn’t stop the monster inside me when it took over.

She brought me up the front steps, which were a crumbled mess of cement pieces. I held onto the side of the house while she opened the door. She took my arm again and led me down a flight of steps to the basement. A guy was gagged and tied to a chair. But not with rope. Like Rebecca, he was held in place by magic, a swirling wind all around him.

He glared at me and shifted in his restraints. His muffled screams echoed in my ears. Nora brought me inches from him and placed my hand on his neck. I felt his warmth, and I inhaled deeply, filling my lungs with air. My other hand found his chest. His heart beat beneath my fingers, quickly at first, fueled by fear. Fear of me. I basked in the life that was filling me, along with the tingling of magic that accompanied it.

As his face twisted in pain, wrinkling with age, I felt my hair float up behind me like a sudden gust of wind was blowing it back. It was the magic. I was sure of it. He was more powerful than Rebecca had been. Every inch of me tingled with life, with power. Finally, he slumped forward, and I lost my hold on him. He was dead, and I could actually see a faint glow on my skin.

“Oh, my God,” Nora whispered. “His magic is inside you. All of it. I can sense it.”

“I can see it.” I held my arms out and watched the silver glow dance across my skin. “I’m not going to stay like this, am I? Ethan will notice this for sure.”

“He won’t notice a thing. He’s human.” She walked over and touched my arm. “I don’t see a thing, and I’m a witch. I can only feel the power because I recognize it from Ben.”

“Ben?” I looked at the witch slumped over on the floor. When I took his magic, I took the power that was swirling around him, too. “How did you know him? How do you know all these witches? They’re all evil, right?”

“Unfortunately.” She turned away from me like she was ashamed of what she was about to say. “We used to all be in the same coven.”

I knew she was a witch, but the fact that she practiced magic with other witches was surreal to me. “What happened?”

“We used to get along. We were friends. No.” She shook her head. “We were more than that. We were family. We got together every night and worked on group spells. We bound ourselves to one another.”

She paused, and I wondered if she’d be able to finish her story. It was obviously hard for her to talk about.

“Everything was great. Until one day Shannon suggested we try a new spell. One that would make humans bend to our will. I didn’t like the idea. Messing with free will was against all the rules we followed. It’s not what good witches do.”

I nodded, remembering how Nora had said Shannon was treated badly by the kids at school. That was what had made her turn into such a bitch.

“I told them I didn’t want to be part of it, but they got angry. They said since we’d bound our powers to one another, the spell wouldn’t be at its strongest without me. I told them I didn’t care. I wouldn’t do it.” She sat down on a couch that was covered with a sheet. She lowered her head, and I knew she was holding back tears.

“Nora, I’m so sorry. You don’t have to tell me about it if you don’t want to.”

“No. I need to tell someone. It’s been killing me to keep it in.”

I sat next to her, placing my hand on her shoulder. “I’m guessing they did the spell anyway.”

“Shannon did. On her own. She said if the entire coven wasn’t going to take part, then she’d do it alone.”

“So, you guys can still do magic by yourselves?”

“Of course, but for the really big spells, we need to combine our magic. Unless we break the magical tie between us.”

“How do you do that?”

“The only way to break the tie is by dying.”

“Is that why you want me to kill them? So you won’t be bound to them anymore?” I couldn’t believe it. She had a personal interest in this. It wasn’t only about finding victims who weren’t innocent. It was about saving herself from the rest of the coven.

“I’m sorry. I should’ve told you sooner, but I thought this arrangement would help both of us. They’re evil, Sam. You don’t know what it’s been like being bound to them. They’re powerful enough to gang up on me. If you don’t kill them, they
will
kill me.”

I didn’t want that. I didn’t like that Nora had kept this from me, but she was trying to help me, too. I needed her.

“You still should’ve told me.”

“I know. I’m sorry.” She looked up at me with swollen red eyes. “Can you forgive me?”

I nodded. She hadn’t told me about all this because she was scared. She was trying to save herself the same way I was. We were a lot alike.

“What about Ben? Why did he come after you like that?”

“He said he was tired of me fighting them. Tired of me playing the good witch. That I was part of the coven, and if I didn’t go along with them, he’d break my tie to them for good.”

“He tried to kill you?”

“Yes.” She looked away again.

“What made him so angry? Was it finding out about Rebecca?” I looked over at Ben again, old, wrinkled, unrecognizable Ben.

“He was with Dylan when he found her.”